


The Cost of Determination

by neggsi



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Genocide Route, Spoilers, Spoilers - No Mercy Route
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-08
Updated: 2015-12-08
Packaged: 2018-05-05 15:55:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,623
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5381141
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/neggsi/pseuds/neggsi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Papyrus is a very special monster- he possesses the same kind of determination as a human. So what happens when he wakes up after being killed, alone without a body? He has to find Sans.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Cost of Determination

They say that monsters do not possess determination; that a monster soul cannot exist outside it's body for too long. They say that this ability is only possessed by humans, who can exist outside their bodies for long periods of time. For every rule though, there was an exception. After all, was determination really something that could simply be injected, used by one single set of people for all of eternity?

No, of course not. To every rule, there was an exception, and the exception to this rule, was Papyrus.

He didn't quite remember dying. He remembered standing before the human invader, offering them a chance at redemption. He remembered the cold, almost lifeless look that the human had given them, before lunging at them. He remembered his HP draining away, and the feeling of his bones crumbling into piles of dust. He even remembered how his skull had stayed for just that little bit longer, giving him time to breathe out his final words.

But he didn't remember dying.

More specifically, he didn't remember the moment when he became nothing. Actually, it was odd that he remembered anything at all, seeing as he was supposed to be dead. Dead people didn't have memories, and they certainly didn't watch over the world as if nothing had happened.

Actually, now that he thought about it, perhaps Papyrus didn't remember becoming nothing, because he was still something? He couldn't feel the cold snow crunching against his feet, or smell the putrid stench of dust that sat directly in front of him. He could only see, and hear.

So he looked, recognizing instantly that he was still in Snowdin, just on the outskirts of the town. If he had to take a guess, he supposed the pile of dust on the ground was what remained of his fantastic skeletal structure he called his body. In fact, he was sure that pile of dust was once him, because his clothes had not disappeared with him. His royal guard costume lay on the ground, torn slightly by the human's attack, but still in tact. They all lay on the ground, half buried in the snow. Everything was there... except for his scarf.

The monster- or whatever he had suddenly become, blinked in surprise, attempting to search through the snow. It proved useless though, as what he guessed was his hand simply phased through it.

At this point, he had started to accept that he was probably a ghost.

The ex-skeleton frowned, not really comprehending his own existence. He should have been dead, unable to see another day, yet here he was, staring at his own pile of dust. There was no other explanation except that he had somehow become a ghost.

He had to find Sans.

Papyrus took a deep breath, and began to move forward, unnerved by the lack of legs pushing him forward. He didn't even really know what was pushing him forward, but he supposed it was just magic. It didn't matter though; he had to find Sans and tell him that he was okay. He had to reassure his brother that the Great Papyrus couldn't be taken down so easily, that he was still here.

He tried Grillby's first, nervously phasing through the wall to find the place completely empty. Not even the owner was there. Considering the place was usually packed, and Sans was nearly always sitting on a bar stool with a bottle of ketchup, he decided this was weird. He couldn't even pick up a piece of paper to write a note, telling Sans that he was alright.

A sob caught in his ghost throat, as he turned to leave the building.

The next part of his search passed by in a blur. Papyrus checked everywhere he could usually find Sans, and everywhere he usually couldn't. He tried their home, Waterfall, even Undyne's scarily quiet and empty home.

In each new area he explored, he couldn't help but notice the piles of dust, sprinkled across the floor with no sense of pride. He knew this was his fault, he should have caught the human when he had the chance, but now he was dead (possibly, anyway) and there was nothing more he could do to fix it. He also noted that nobody was around, and he assumed Undyne and Alphys had organised an evacuation. His ghost heart ached for his friends, but he told himself that they were all alright. They could handle themselves. He just had to find Sans.

He made his way through the Hotlands, tearing through every building that could have even possibly held Sans. His distress was growing now, to the point where ghostly sobs filled the empty land. Everyone was gone, and he didn't know why he was still here, but it wasn't  _fair_ that he was still here while they were not, and he couldn't even find his brother.

Eventually, there was no other place to look. He made his way to the castle, hoping against all hope that his brother would be there, safe with the rest of his friends. He hoped that they could tell him this was all a prank, and that everyone was fine.

He made his way through the empty hallways, checking every last room twice. The closer he got to the throne room, the worse he felt. There was a horrible feeling in the pit of his ghost stomach, like he was missing something vital. A clue maybe, or even just another living being.

His clue came from unexpectedly, as he floated helplessly towards what was known as "The Last Hallway". There was a loud noise, followed by what could only be his brother's voice.

"So... guess that's it, huh?"

It was just down the hallway, and had been proceeded by an odd noise that made Papyrus feel sick. He wasn't quite sure how he did it, but he ran, or at least floated at a great speed.

"... Just, don't say I didn't warn you."

Papyrus had never had a heartbeat, but even in this state, he was sure he could hear it pounding in his chest.

"Welp, I'm going to Grillby's."

Something was wrong, Sans didn't sound right. He sounded as if he was in agony.

"Papyrus, do you want anything?"

The ghost's heart shattered. Leaning just inside the door frame, stood his brother, covered in a red substance he could only assume to be ketchup. It  _had_ to be ketchup, it couldn't be anything else!

Sans looked worse than he ever had. A large knife wound covered his chest, and his whole body shook with shock. He hadn't seen Papyrus yet, but it was clear that he was ready to give up. It was obvious to the ghost, that his brother was dying.

"SANS," he choked out, frozen to the spot in the hallway. He couldn't move, he couldn't breathe, he couldn't even think. He knew he didn't have any real eyes to cry out of, but that didn't stop the tears from spilling over. The older skeleton looked up at the sound of his voice, eyes flickering in vague recognition. 

"P-Pap?" Sans said shakily, looking at the ghost in disbelief. Papyrus had yet to see his own appearance, but he guessed that he must have looked vaguely similar to his skeletal self. "Is that... Is that really you?"

They were both crying now, a river of tears falling across their faces. Papyrus raced to his brother's side, attempting to grab him and hold him up, or  _something_. He had to do something, he couldn't let his brother die! Not when he'd only just found him again!

"Y-YES, IT'S ME," Papyrus promised, his whole ghost form shaking with sobs. He couldn't even hold his dying brother. "YOU SHOULD KNOW THAT... THAT IT TAKES MORE THAN THAT, TO KILL THE G-GREAT... THE GREAT PAPYRUS..."

Sans smiled, the most genuine smile his brother had ever seen. It was enough to light up the room, even just for a brief moment. For the first time in years, Papyrus could see that his brother was truly happy. If only he could stay happy, forever.

"Yeah... I should have known... You had too much fighting  _spirit_... to leave," Sans managed to say, giving a weak laugh. It definitely wasn't his best pun, but it was clear that he was glad to leave on a happy note.

Papyrus went to laugh, scold his brother, say  _anything_ , but as he tried to find the words, he found his brother slowly fading away into another pile of dust.

There was no way to describe the heartache Papyrus felt in that moment. He wanted to cry, fight, or even just hug somebody. But no matter how much he cried out, nobody came. They were all gone, presumably dead like his brother. He couldn't even hold the dust that was once his brother for any kind of final goodbye. He was stuck in his transparent state, unable to do anything.

Briefly, he hoped that his brother had the same ability. Maybe, Sans would come back as a ghost too? Maybe he was just as determined as Papyrus?

There was only one way to find out.

Papyrus sat his form down on the floor next to his brother, wiping away his ghost tears with one skeletal shaped ghostly hand. Dully, he noted that he was emitting an orange hue. He'd have to ask Sans to tell him what he looked like when he came back, or at least convince his brother to come with him to a mirror. He wanted to know if he looked like himself still, or if he had taken a lumpy, ghost-like form.

So, filled with determination, the ghost of the Great Papyrus waited.

**Author's Note:**

> i don't know where the idea of this story came from, but i started wondering whether monsters could really have any determination. papyrus seemed like the most likely person to have it. so basically the whole idea is that a monster filled with enough determination becomes a ghost after death, but it's a rare occurrence. i mean, ghosts aren't proper monsters, or you'd be able to kill them, right?  
> i'd really like to see what ghost pap looks like.


End file.
